


Fresh Start

by CaptAcorn



Series: Home [1]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Angst and Humor, Childbirth, Family Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 05:44:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12336636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptAcorn/pseuds/CaptAcorn
Summary: The first time Julia Paris met B'Elanna in person, she greeted her in Klingon. Her accent was flawless. It would have made B'Elanna's mother proud.It was not an auspicious beginning to their relationship.B'Elanna barely got along with her own mother, so she's not sure how she's supposed to get along with someone else's. Especially one that thinks she knows as much as Julia does. But maybe everyone needs a little mothering sometimes.





	Fresh Start

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first in my Home series of stories. They are all post-Endgame, related but self-contained, stories, spanning roughly seventy-five years. After I explored the character of Miral (as in B'Elanna's mother) in my AU story Variations, I regretted that my head canon is that she died just as B'Elanna had seen in Barge of the Dead. I liked the idea that B'Elanna would never truly know if what she saw was 'real' or not. But what it meant was, B'Elanna didn't have a real maternal figure in her life once she got back to the Alpha Quadrant. Now, if you were to ask her, she would immediately tell you she doesn't need one. I had other ideas...
> 
> Many thanks go to Delwin and rsb for their feedback in the early days of these stories' creation. As always, I am very grateful for Photogirl1890's impeccable proofreading skills. Last, but very, very definitely not least: all the thanks and gratitude to Sareki, my Ideal Reader. I would one hundred percent not be write as well as I do without her insight and talent.

_I don't have to go._

_Don't be stupid. Of course you do. This is our first contract for Starfleet. It'll look unprofessional if we cancel now._

_We can send Jin by himself. He can do it without me._

_No, he can't. He knows the design but he doesn't know how to talk to people. Miral and I will be fine. Go._

_But I don't want to miss this one!_

_You're not going to miss anything. My due date is nearly three weeks away. You're only gone for four days._

_You could go early. It happens._

_Will you stop? I had Miral eleven days late. I'm not going to have this baby early. You're going._

_But…_

_Tom! You're driving me crazy with this. Just go!_

"Stupid," B'Elanna muttered, as she rubbed a hand over her rounded belly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." She wasn't sure which was more infuriating: that she was going to give birth without her husband  _again_ , or that she would have to listen to Tom endlessly gloat about being right, once he was back from Mars.

"Mommy," said Miral, her expression grave in the way only a five-year-old correcting a parent could be. "You said a bad word."

"Yes, Miral," B'Elanna conceded as her latest contraction ended.  _Why does my back hurt so much?_ "I did. Mommy's sorry. I'm just… having a hard time right now."

"Because the baby's coming!" Miral announced to the train car. "I am having a baby!"

The other occupants of the car had expressions ranging from smiling indulgence for her exuberant daughter to mild terror that perhaps the baby was coming right here and now. Which was ridiculous, of course. It was just early labor. It could last for hours, maybe even days. The Doctor said he might even send her home if she hadn't dilated sufficiently. There was nothing to worry about. Although, she thought as the man next to her shifted a few centimeters away, maybe the train  _wasn't_  the best choice.

But what other option did she have? She needed to get to Starfleet Medical and she needed someone to take care of Miral. Tom was already working on getting the next shuttle back to Earth — there was no way to get him home any faster. (Wisely, when she'd called to tell him what was going on, he'd decided to save his 'I told you so's' for after the baby arrived.) Her plan for Miral had always been to leave her with Tom's sister, Kathleen. But she was still on her honeymoon with Damaris on Gedi Prime — they wouldn't be home until late tomorrow night. She sure as hell wasn't calling John for help — having to deal with her father right now would be worse than being alone. But she also couldn't bring a five-year-old to the hospital with her.

Which left Tom's parents. They were the logical choice — Miral loved her grandparents and B'Elanna had to go to San Francisco anyway. It was only a fifteen minute ride on the express train. It would be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

B'Elanna bit her lip and bore the next contraction in silence. They weren't that bad yet. No reason to advertise it to the train car any more than Miral already had. She had plenty of time.

Once they were off the train, B'Elanna heaved herself into a hover cab next to her bouncy five-year-old. "Where is my bag, Mommy? You said when the baby came I was going to have a special bag with Toby and Rosebob and a toothbrush."

_Shit._  "I forgot the bag, Miri. Maybe Grand—" She paused and blinked.  _Another one? Already? How long was that?_  "Miral, tell the cab where to go, please."

As her daughter cheerfully told the cab's computer her grandparents' address, as well as engaged it in a lively conversation about the differences between targs and warthogs, B'Elanna snuck a look at the chronometer on her handheld. Seven minutes. Her last contraction had been only seven minutes ago.  _Fuck._ Things were moving much faster than they had with Miral.

Even after the contraction ended, her back continued to ache. That hadn't happened last time.  _Is something wrong?_ The pain still hadn't faded when the cab reached Pacific Heights. Her in-law's front steps had never looked longer.

"Come on, Mommy!" Miral called from the porch as she pressed the doorbell. "Maybe Barra has cookies!"

"Coming," she panted, as she hauled herself up the stairs.

In reality, it probably took her mother-in-law less than a minute to get to the door, but in the moment it felt like an eternity. B'Elanna felt the sweat drip off her ridges despite the morning chill.

"Hi Grandma!" Miral cheered as the door opened. "Mommy is having our baby!"

Julia's eyes widened as she took in her daughter-in-law's appearance. B'Elanna considered that this might be the most dramatic reaction she'd ever seen from the woman — aside from her fights with Kath, anyway. "B'Elanna, come in," the other woman said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Come sit down."

B'Elanna shook herself free of Julia's grasp — she could still  _walk_  for God's sake — but gladly sank into the padded bench just inside the foyer. "That's it," Julia cooed at her, taking B'Elanna's hands in hers. "Just sit and take a few breaths. Barra!" she called. "Can you come here, please?"

_Why couldn't Barra have answered the door? Or Owen?_ B'Elanna wondered, pulling her hands free of Julia's and trying to catch her breath. It's not that she didn't like Tom's mother. Well, no, that was exactly it. But it's not that she thought Julia was a terrible person. It was only that they were so different — and in all the wrong ways. Julia was all about appearances and chitchat. On the other hand, trying to get an honest emotional reaction out of the woman was harder than mining for dilithium. It was always, "fine" or "lovely" or "don't worry about me, darling." And she had opinions on everything! Child rearing, nutrition, more flattering ways for B'Elanna to dress. Owen was easy — B'Elanna could talk to Owen about a dozen different things, or even just sit with him in companionable silence. With Julia, on the other hand, she'd been known to fake a trip to the bathroom rather than stay alone in a room with her.

"Grandma, is Barra making cookies?" Miral asked, as she twirled around the foyer. She liked to watch herself in the giant gilded mirror by the door.

"I don't know, darling," Julia said, now rubbing B'Elanna's thighs since she refused to let her mother-in-law hold her hands again. "Why don't you go find her and bring her here? I'm going to help your Mommy."

"Okaaaay," Miral sang as she pelted down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"B'Elanna, where's Tom? Why didn't he come here with you?"

B'Elanna took a slow deep breath through her nose, as the Doctor had coached her during Miral's labor. The sharp pain in her back had faded to a dull ache and she now just had the normal amount of hips and feet and everything else pain to contend with. This wasn't so bad. She could do this. "He's still on Mars. He's trying to get a shuttle home now."

Julia's eyebrows drew together as she sat next to B'Elanna on the bench. "How did you and Miral get here?"

"The train," she said, closing her eyes and trying to gather herself for the next contraction.

"B'Elanna! You shouldn't be riding a train alone with a five-year-old while you're in labor! Why didn't you call for a transport to the hospital?"

B'Elanna's eyes flew back open. Now? Her mother-in-law was going to give her a hard time  _now_? Because right when she was about to give birth to her second child (Without her husband! Again!) was a good time to question her decision making skills? And it wasn't like this was her first baby. She knew what she was doing! The train was a lot faster than a hovercar, after all. How else was she supposed to get to San Francisco?

That's when Julia's words clicked.  _Oh, for fuck's sake._

"Transporters," B'Elanna said, looking at her mother-in-law. "I forgot I could call for a medical transport. I'm an engineer and I forgot about transporters." Her words came out faster as her next contraction began. "I forgot everything. Transporters, Miral's bag! I'm lucky I remembered Miral! What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you, darling," Julia said, stroking her sweaty hair. "You're in labor. You should have seen me with Moira. I  _needed_ to finish making Kathleen's dinner even though my water had broken. I nearly had her in the kitchen. Don't fret, just try to relax and breathe. I'll take care of everything."

Before B'Elanna could lodge a protest at this idea, Barra, nominally the Paris' housekeeper but now more of a beloved permanent houseguest, came slowly down the hall, her cane tapping on one side and Miral skipping along on the other. "Julia? What's happened? Miral says the baby's coming."

"Yes, Barra," Julia said, now moving her hands to B'Elanna's shoulders. "I need you to make some calls. Owen's at HQ today — call him and tell him he needs to figure out how to get Tom back from Mars  _now_. I'm sure the 'Fleet has something faster than the public shuttles. Then call Tom on his comm device and tell him not to go anywhere until he hears from his father. If he gives you a hard time, remind him, from me, that his wife and baby are more important than his pride." She turned back to B'Elanna. "Now, is there anything Miral absolutely needs from her bag? I can replicate it here and send Owen to your house later to get the rest."

B'Elanna straightened, increasingly leery of where all this was going. "You don't have to go to any trouble," she said. "I just wanted you to watch Miral while I go to the hospital. I'll be fine."

"Of course you'll be fine," Julia said, patting B'Elanna's knee. "And Barra will watch Miral while I go with you."

"Oh," B'Elanna said, standing as quickly as her condition would allow.  _No, no, no_. She did  _not_  want Julia there. That wasn't how this was supposed to go at all. "You don't need to… I'll be OK by myself. I was the last time, after all. It's really all right. I'm all right."

"B'Elanna, darling, you shouldn't be alone—"

"I won't be alone!" she snapped, her patience exhausted. Why did the woman have to challenge everything? "The Doctor will be there, and Tom will come...  _eventually_ , and I don't need you!"

Miral and Barra edged closer together, their eyes wide. Julia, however, just gave her a smile — the same one Tom used when he really needed to get on her good side — and stood to cup her cheek. "Of course you do, sweetheart. Now, you may have done it all by yourself once before, but we're not on  _Voyager_  or fighting the Borg. There's no reason for you to be all noble about this. I've given birth to three of my own, I was there for three of my grandchildren, and I am here to tell you that every woman could use a little extra help and support right now. Even you. I'm not taking no for an answer."

B'Elanna's fists clenched, torn between wanting some control over who and what she needed and just wanting to give in so they could go to the damn hospital and stop arguing. That's when she felt an odd warm dampness between her thighs.

Miral pointed at her and giggled. "Mommy wet her pants!"

B'Elanna glanced at her reflection in the mirror. "Shit."

"Language, darling," Julia said before putting a concerned finger to her mouth and regarding B'Elanna's lower half. "Barra? When you call Owen, first ask him to arrange for a beam out for me and B'Elanna to the hospital. We may not have a lot of time to waste."

/=\

"My back is killing me," B'Elanna told the Doctor as he glanced between the bed's monitors and her nether regions. She wished the lights weren't so bright in here. And everything was so white! Stupid choice for a hospital. "It wasn't like this with Miral. The baby's OK, right? Nothing's wrong?"

"Not at all," the Doctor reassured her, peering up at her from between her bent legs with a smile. "You're just experiencing 'back labor,' likely due to the baby's positioning. It's nothing to worry about. But… " He trailed off, distracted by an alert on his PADD.

"But what?" B'Elanna asked, picking her head up off the pillow. Why couldn't the damn hologram just focus on her for a second? He hadn't left her alone when she'd given birth to Miral and now she could barely get him to complete a sentence before he was distracted by a message or one of the nurses.

"Back labors are often longer," he explained, still reading the PADD as he stood. "More painful. It could be hours before you transition. I'd suggest you get up, walk around. Do some squats, lunges, pelvic tilts — it can help alter the baby's positioning. And get off your back," he scolded, gesturing to where B'Elanna lay in the stirrups as if he weren't the one that put her in this position five minutes ago. The Doctor moved to the door of the small delivery room. He was leaving? "Let one of the nurses know if you need anything. I'll be back to check on you in—"

"Excuse me, Doctor," Julia piped up, moving from B'Elanna's side to put herself between him and the exit. "But what about pain medication?"

Once her water had broken, B'Elanna had decided trying to convince her mother-in-law to stay home was not the most expedient way to get to Starfleet Medical. It was ridiculous, really. The woman never lost her temper, never even raised her voice, yet seemed to get what she wanted every damn time. If it didn't drive B'Elanna so nuts, she might ask Julia for tips. She struggled to pull her legs from the stirrups. "I'm not going to use any pain medication."

Julia moved back to B'Elanna's side to help her negotiate the bed with her elephantine midsection and swollen legs. "Why not, darling?"

"I didn't with Miral, either." She paused to catch her breath. She couldn't wait until this damn baby was out and she wouldn't get exhausted just trying to sit up.

"It's Klingon tradition, Mrs. Paris," the Doctor supplied, moving back to B'Elanna's bedside. "They've practiced natural childbirth since time immemorial. Actually, several Terran cultures also—"

Julia held up a hand to stop him and turned back towards B'Elanna. "Sweetheart, I want to respect your wishes, of course, but why, exactly, do you want to be in more pain than is strictly necessary?"

B'Elanna let out a sigh. Of course Julia would have opinions on how she gave birth. The woman had an opinion on everything. B'Elanna had her reasons — why did her mother-in-law need anything beyond that? Although, it occurred to her as her uterus began to tense once again, she was hard pressed to think of a single one of those reasons right now. "I… I didn't…" It was getting harder to speak through the contractions now. She looked up at the hologram. "Doctor, could you… ?"

The EMH gave B'Elanna's hand a quick pat and Julia a smug grin. "The Klingons believe that embracing the pain of childbirth leads to increased lung capacity in the infant as well as improves bonding. The mother and child! Struggling through the experience of creation together!" His assured tone began to falter as Julia stared daggers at him. "They also believe that… uh... a natural childbirth shortens labor times. And is also… uh… more—"

"Don't you dare say honorable." She helped B'Elanna lean forward and began to rub circles across her lower back. "Klingon culture has innumerable positive aspects. I should know — I was an attaché to Qo'noS for a year — but they are not known for their progressive attitudes towards medical intervention. Frankly, I'm surprised at you, Doctor. I thought you were a man of science. Is there a single study to support any of the claims you just made?"

B'Elanna moaned with pleasure at the firm pressure Julia was applying to her back.  _Wow, that feels good._

"Well, no, but I did extensive research into traditional—"

"And I call bullcrap on your use of the term 'natural childbirth.' It would be more 'natural' to treat a broken leg with a splint, or to bleed us with leeches, but we don't that anymore, either."

B'Elanna let her eyes close and took a deep breath as the contraction crested and began to recede.  _How could a back rub make a contraction so much better? Did Julia just say 'bullcrap'?_

"Of course not, but—"

"Name a single other medical condition in which an appropriate analgesic protocol would not be instituted."

The contraction had ended, but B'Elanna didn't want to say anything, for fear that the ministrations on her aching muscles would stop.  _Maybe Julia can show Tom how to do this, if he gets here on time._

"Well, Doctor?"

B'Elanna knew she should say something to defend the EMH. They'd made the decision together, after all, with Miral. Sort of. Tom had said it was up to her, she'd never minded physical pain that much, and the Doctor had just been so  _invested_ in a traditional Klingon birth. Although labor, contractions, the actual delivery… As she suddenly flashed back to what it had been like five years ago — alone in Sickbay with the Doctor, not knowing if they'd end up back in the Alpha Quadrant or assimilated on a Borg cube, scared and in pain and just wishing Tom could be two places at once — her heart rate started to climb.

"B'Elanna? Are you having another contraction already?" The Doctor was waving a tricorder over her abdomen.

"I want the pain meds," she whispered to her knees. She couldn't look at either of them. What would the other Miral would have said to this admission? Would she have commented on her daughter's human need for analgesia?

"B'Elanna," the Doctor said, leaning in close to her. "It's not part of the birth plan we have in place — the one that you agreed to. I don't want you to have any regrets. Labor can be overwhelming in the moment. Maybe we could call Tom while he's in transit. He might have an opin—"

"Doctor," Julia cut in. B'Elanna's eyes widened at the unfamiliar menace in her mother-in-law's voice. "Is the baby being carried in my son's uterus or B'Elanna's?"

"B'Elanna's, of course, Mrs. Paris," the EMH said. "But—"

"But nothing. She has asked for pain relief. Please give it to her, or I will find a doctor who will."

The Doctor frowned and sputtered, but within a few moments he was pressing a hypospray to B'Elanna's neck, his features turned down in a sulk. The analgesic immediately eased her aching back and midsection, and she let Julia help her lie down onto her side. "Thank you," she mumbled, not completely sure who she was talking to. She let her eyes drift shut as Julia arranged a series of pillows under her legs and back.

"That's it," Julia murmured. "You just get a little rest. I'll be right here with you."

/=\

B'Elanna wailed as she squatted in the corridor outside the birthing room. The orderlies walking by gave her an alarmed look, but B'Elanna didn't give a shit. If she wasn't about to shove a watermelon out of her vagina, she'd have given them something to really be afraid of.

"Just breathe through it, almost there."

Julia had barely left her side. She'd brought her water and popsicles and ice chips. She'd rubbed her feet and back. She'd helped B'Elanna into a warm bath. And she hadn't gone running for the hills no matter how much verbal abuse her daughter-in-law had hurled in her direction.

The analgesics the Doctor had given her had stopped being adequate hours ago. Apparently her pain receptors were different from a full human's and if he gave her higher doses there was a risk the medication would affect the baby. "You're at six centimeters," he'd told her at his last check-in. "Still a bit to go, I'm afraid. I  _could_  administer an epidural, but we'd have to monitor the baby much more closely. You couldn't leave the biobed."

B'Elanna had turned her pale and sweaty face to Julia, asking a silent question. Julia had cupped her cheek. "Whatever you want, darling. I'll be here either way."

She'd wanted to walk. The idea of being stuck in a bed was abhorrent to her, even with the pain she was in. So no epidural.

"Mrs. Paris?" the Doctor's voice was atypically timid as he looked down on their little tableau in the hallway. B'Elanna didn't think even Janeway cowed him as much as Julia Paris. "Some of the staff has requested we move B'Elanna back into her room. Apparently she's frightening the other patients." B'Elanna couldn't see Julia's expression from where she was. She  _could_  see the Doctor's as he backed away. "Of course, if B'Elanna is most comfortable here, then she should stay."

B'Elanna let her head drop back against the wall behind her, her latest ordeal over. "It's OK," she said. "We can go back in the room. I think… I think maybe I need to lie down for a bit."

Julia helped her stand and kept an arm wrapped around her shoulders as they moved back into the room. "Not much longer now. You're almost there."

B'Elanna felt her eyes start to sting. "He's not going to get here in time, is he?" She hauled one heavy leg then the other onto the bed.

"We don't know that, darling. I haven't heard from Owen recently. Tom could be here any minute."

"I know it," B'Elanna choked out, letting the tears fall freely now. "He's not going to make it. It's too far." She felt her throat tighten and she wiped uselessly at her eyes. "I just… I really wanted him to be here this time. I didn't want it to be like this again. I didn't want to do it alone."

"Oh, sweetheart," Julia said, pulling B'Elanna's head down onto her shoulder and rocking her gently. "You're not alone. I'm right here with you."

Her reassurances only made B'Elanna feel worse. She hesitated, then sagged into Julia's arms. She was just so fucking tired. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. God, you've been so nice and I… I've just been awful."

Julia only laughed as she pulled back so she could dry B'Elanna's tears with a tissue. "You've been just fine, darling. You're having a baby — you've got quite a bit of leeway before you reach awful."

"But," she sniffled, "I'm always awful to you. I don't even know why you came today."

"B'Elanna." Julia tapped at the exhausted mother's chin until she looked up and their eyes locked. "I know we don't see eye to eye on many things—"

"On anything, really," B'Elanna muttered before she could stop herself.

Julia gave a small snort and B'Elanna saw a flash of the man she loved. "But I hope you know how special you are to me. I see what a wonderful mother you are to Miral. I see how good you've been for Tom. Do you have any idea what that means to me? To see my son happy after he was lost for so long? So," she said, tucking a damp lock of B'Elanna's hair behind her ear, "even though I know I'm not your first choice — I'm so glad I can be here for you. You are my daughter — just as much as Kathleen and Moira are. I want you to know that."

B'Elanna's eyes started to fill again. "Julia…"

"B'Elanna!"

Her heart leapt and she turned away from Julia to reach for her husband. "Tom!"

He dropped his bag and crossed to her in three long strides, pressing his lips to hers as he reached her bedside, his eyes bright. "Looks like I made it just under the wire."

B'Elanna tried to come up with a quip, something that would show Tom that she was fine, she had everything under control. Instead, she collapsed in a pathetic heap against his shoulder, covering his shirt with snot and tears.

"Hey, hey," he whispered in her ear, enfolding her in strong arms. "Where's that big, tough Klingon I married? It's OK. I'm here. I got you." He kissed her hair and rested his chin gently against her head. "Thanks so much, Mom, for coming with her. I'm glad she wasn't alone. I knew I shouldn't have gone to Mars."

_Here it comes_ , thought B'Elanna.  _He couldn't have waited for this until tomorrow?_

"I tried to tell her we should postpone the meeting," her husband continued. "I had this feeling—"

"Thomas Eugene Paris." Julia's voice held the same tone with which she'd lambasted the Doctor earlier. "If the next words out of your mouth are anything even in the neighborhood of 'I told you so,' I will kick you out of this room so fast your head will spin."

B'Elanna, her face still pressed into Tom's chest, felt her husband's body stiffen. Her head buzzy with exhaustion and pain, she surprised herself when she started to giggle.

"Sorry, Mom," Tom said, his voice sheepish. He pulled back from B'Elanna but didn't release her from his arms. His cheeks were flushed pink, but his eyes were amused. "So my mom yelling at me is funny to you, huh?"

She only nodded as her laughter subsided, relieved he was finally here but too spent to engage in their regular banter. Tom apparently noticed her fatigue ( _He'd have to be blind not to. I must be a wreck._ ) and eased her back down onto the bed, helping her shift onto her left side. He started to rub her back gently, a bit higher than was ideal, but B'Elanna appreciated the gesture.

"A little lower, Tom," Julia said, and B'Elanna felt her mother in law's hand on her back now. "And more pressure. That's it."

B'Elanna sighed and relaxed into the touch. "I'm glad you're here," she said, then realized her words were vague. "I mean, I'm glad both—" She cried out in pain and grabbed her belly.

Tom squeezed her hand and glanced at the biobed's monitors. "This is a big one. I think you're transitioning." He bent over until he caught B'Elanna's eyes. "You're almost there, OK? You can do this. Hey, Mom, can you— ?"

"I'll get the Doctor," Julia replied and B'Elanna heard the click of her shoes across the floor.

"Julia?" she managed to gasp out before she let out another wail.

"It's all right, darling. We're all here for you. It's all right."

/=\

"Look what we did," Tom said, his voice soft with awe as he stroked their newborn son's cheek.

" _We_  did?" B'Elanna raised an eyebrow at her husband. It had not been a quick delivery. It had taken over an hour for her cervix to dilate those final three centimeters and she'd had to push for nearly two. She was as physically drained as she'd ever been. Mixed in with her fatigue, though, was an oxytocin-induced surge of euphoria and love for the tiny, new person that lay sleeping in her arms.

"I'll concede you did the lion's share of the work," he said with a grin before his face turned serious. "You're a pretty amazing woman, B'Elanna Torres. You know that, right?"

"I forget sometimes," she replied, with a smile and watery eyes. She couldn't wait until her damn hormones were back to normal. All this crying was annoying. "It's always nice to hear."

"Knock, knock."

Tom and B'Elanna looked up to see Julia peering in through the open door with a smile.

"Come on in, Mom," Tom said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Meet your new grandson."

Julia stepped over to the bed and brought her hands to her face. "He's beautiful," she gushed — quietly.

"Joseph Owen Paris," Tom pronounced. "Joseph for a friend of ours from  _Voyager_. One who didn't make it home," he added with a sad look at B'Elanna. She thought of the man whose nose she had once broken but who had, over seven years, become a much loved colleague and friend. The moment they'd found out this baby was going to be a boy, it was the only name that had seemed right. "Owen for obvious reasons."

Julia leaned over B'Elanna to kiss her son's temple. "Your father will be honored. He wanted to come right away with Miral, but I thought perhaps the three of you could use some more time to recover."

B'Elanna thanked Julia and tried to not look too obviously relieved. She was frequently overwhelmed by how much she loved her boisterous five-year-old. But sometimes she was just overwhelmed by Miral. "It's nearly her bedtime. It's probably best if she meets her little brother tomorrow."

A small squeak was emitted from the tiny form swaddled in her arms. B'Elanna felt her face break into a smile as Joe's blue eyes blinked open and passed over his new surroundings. "Hi there, baby," she murmured. "Good morning."

"B'Elanna, darling," Julia said. "Maybe he's hungry. When was the last time he fed? Is his latch strong yet? We can call in a lactation consultant if you're having any issues. Did you bring a nursing pillow in your bag, or should I replicate one?"

"Mom," Tom said, rising to his feet with his hands outstretched. "Relax. This isn't our first rodeo. I'm sure B'Elanna knows what she's doing."

She couldn't blame Tom for intervening. How many times had she asked him to run interference between her and Julia, to get his mother to back off? Nevertheless, she felt a flash of irritation with him and the dismissive tone he'd used. She reached out a hand and tugged at his shirt. Hard.

"Tom," B'Elanna said. "It's fine. She  _has_  raised three kids of her own, after all. Two of them even turned out OK." She directed a pointed look at her husband before smiling at his mother. "What I could really use, though, is someone to hold the baby while I get a little more comfortable. Do you mind, Julia?"

Julia leaned in close, touching her smooth forehead to B'Elanna's ridged one. "I'd be glad to, darling."

**The End**


End file.
